CRE

Valley National Bank and Dime Community Bancshares expect a better balance of deposit costs to help boost their net interest margins in 2025.

The Bethesda, Maryland, company projects increases in loans and deposits as its C&I lending strategy gears up. Criticized and past-due loans appear to be declining even with a jump in nonperforming assets.

The Pittsburgh-based company's fourth-quarter earnings increased more than 80% from the same period in 2023, beating analysts' expectations and leaving CEO Bill Demchak upbeat about 2025 prospects, though M&A likely remains off the table.

Banks seeking to offload CRE assets are finding a receptive marketplace while regulators have managed to keep the situation in balance, observers say.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based company called its success in luring a team from Capital One as its most "newsworthy" move to date executing a strategy aimed at diversifying its lending operation.

Brian Brooks, former acting Comptroller of the Currency in the first Trump administration and advisor to the President-elect's transition team, said new agency heads will open up commercial real estate lending, approach credit risk management differently and privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s Q3 Quarterly Banking Profile report highlighted net bank income falling 8.6%, but also showed slow delinquency growth in commercial real estate and core income metrics improving across the banking sector.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council's annual report underscores mounting challenges in commercial real estate, escalating cyber threats, and regulatory gaps in third-party services and stablecoins, urging stronger oversight and legislative action.

In its semiannual supervision and regulation report, the Federal Reserve flagged climbing loan delinquencies and a rising number of large bank citations for governance and controls.

The added capital will help the New Jersey-based regional bank reduce its commercial real estate footprint faster and give it wiggle room to grow elsewhere, analysts said.